EDITORIAL

It is time for both of Newport-Mesa’s representatives to show their

clout in the Republican Party.

A bill working its way through the House of Representatives, which

could open Newport Harbor to more pollution, deserves a swift and final

death. And Christopher Cox and Dana Rohrabacher need to strike the blow.

The bill, proposed by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.), would remove the

harbor’s federal protection as a “no-discharge harbor” and allow boaters

to dump waste into the water that is less treated than current

regulations require. Parasites and diseases found in waste would make it

into the harbor.

That’s the water we swim and boat in. It’s the water the luckiest

among us wake up next to each day. It’s the water that makes up the

character of this town. It’s the very same water that many, many people

rely on each day for their livelihood.

Local environmentalists, not surprisingly, have come out in harsh

opposition to the bill. But it shouldn’t end with them, and so far it

hasn’t.

Newport Beach Mayor Gary Adams has joined them and has called on Cox

and Rohrabacher to oppose the bill. Still, we haven’t heard a word from

our local congressmen, but we are confident that the silence from our

elected officials in Congress will end soon.

It has to. Because the call to arms in this instance cannot be too

strongly stated -- the health of the largest recreational harbor in the

nation is at stake.

Both men -- particularly Cox, who is among the House Republican

leaders by virtue of his role as chairman of the House Policy Committee

-- need to ensure this bill never sees the light of the House floor.

And they need to make it clear to Saxton and their fellow Republicans

that protecting our nation’s waters, particularly Newport Harbor, is not

a fringe movement -- it is very clearly the will and the interest of the

people they represent.